Sick Days
by CalebWinters
Summary: Edward Elric comes down with the flu and while Al is off doing the work Ed should be doing, he is placed in the care of Colonel Roy Mustang. Soon even he gets sick and they're both forced to look after each other. [RoyEd]
1. Chapter 1

The sun slowly rose as the moon descended, it's bright rays illuminating the previously dark street and large buildings, finding its way in between the curtains of a certain alchemist. Edward groaned and his eyes fluttered open, the light bearing down on his face causing him to blink his eyes until he had adjusted.

He sat up in bed and yawned softly, the blankets falling down from his chest to his waist. Ed turned to look out the window in time to see the sun duck behind a collage of clouds. He smiled softly and put his arms up as he stretched, groaning softly.

Alphonse, who had been downstairs attempting to cook for his older brother, made sure the food was properly prepared before he went up to check on Edward.

"Brother, are you awake?" His squeaky, echoed voice sounded through the door moments after he ascended the stairs. He opened it and his red eyes found his brother sitting up.

"Yeah. Looks like it's going to rain today. We'd better finish this report up so we can get back."

Alphonse nodded and walked over slightly. "I made you breakfast, brother. You should eat first."

Ed smiled and pulled the covers off of his legs, exposing his one human leg and his other automail one. "Alright, I'll write up the report and you can go buy our train tickets."

Al nodded again as Edward sauntered past him, slowly moving downstairs where a simple plate of pancakes were waiting for him. "Oh I love pancakes!"

Al chuckled softly and moved to door. "I'll go get the tickets now, finish eating, brother." Al left the room they were staying in and Ed moved to watch him leave, stepping outside. "Make sure you get the right tickets! We're going to central command!"

Al laughed and shook his head slightly. "Okay!" Droplets of water began to fall and soon it became a downpour, making loud noises as the water struck Al's armor. Ed didn't mind though. He looked up at the sky and grinned softly, the water bearing down on him. "Looks like I was right."

He walked back inside after seeing Al off and dried himself off with towel. Ed sat down at the table and slowly began eating as he read through his report.

After about a half hour, Al returned with their tickets to central and Ed had finished his report. The elder alchemist grabbed his red robe and pulled it on, Al waiting at the door for him.

"Let's go see the bastard." Ed mumbled and walked out of the room, his younger brother following behind him.

- **Hours late** r-

When the two brothers finally got to central command, the sun was already setting, ducking behind the horizon. Ed groaned and sniffled, wiping his nose with his sleeve.

"We'll have to turn it in tomorrow. I'm sure the bastard went home already. Let's go in." Both Elrics walked towards the gate and were greeted by the guards out front. After a misunderstanding about them entering, Ed simply flashed his State Alchemist's pocket watch and he was let inside with multiple apologies.

Ed grinned and walked into the building where him and his brother were led into the livings quarters and shown into the room they'd be staying in.

After performing his nightly routine of showering, brushing his teeth, and oiling his automail, Ed crawled into one of the beds and closed his eyes, soon falling asleep.

The next morning, he woke up again and realized how awful he felt. His head was throbbing, his nose was both running and stopped up at the same time, and his skin was a sickly pale. Alphonse took one look at his brother and gasped.

"Brother! Are you alright? Are you sick?" Placing his hand on his forehead, he realized he couldn't feel his temperature with his current body and quickly called in the nearest officer outside, who just so happened to be Maria Ross. Ed covered his mouth and coughed into his sleeve, shaking his head.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. It's no big deal." Maria placed the back of her hand to his forehead and gasped herself. "You're burning up, Edward!"

Ed sighed softly and grabbed his report, pushing past them. "I need to work. I have a report to turn in." Maria immediately grabbed his hand and pulled him back, taking the report from his grasp.

"I'll turn this in to Colonel Mustang for you. You just rest." She walked out of the room and Alphonse followed after her to tell Mustang himself about Edward's condition.

Ed just groaned again and decided not to use his weak limbs. He fell back onto the bed with an 'oof' and pulled the blankets over himself, falling back asleep.

Meanwhile, Alphonse and Maria made their way to Colonel Mustang's office and walked inside. Roy stood up, a slight glare aimed at them.

"Can't you knock?"

"I'm sorry, Colonel. We just came to turn in Ed's report." Maria handed it to him and decided she'd let Al tell him about Ed.

"And why couldn't he deliver it to me himself?" Roy narrowed his eyes towards them.

"He's really sick. He can barely stand, and even then he sways. I'm sorry, Colonel but I don't think we can do anymore investigations until brother is better."

"No, Alphonse. I already had the next investigation I was going to give you two ready. I was planning on giving it to FullMetal when he returned but if he's as sick as you say, I have no choice. You'll have to go alone."

"W-what!?" Alphonse shook his head furiously. "No, I have to look after brother!"

Roy sighed and sat down, rubbing his temples softly. These brothers were getting to be such a pain. He closed his eyes and let Alphonse rant to him.

"Look, you won't have to leave central. There is someone here in central who has apparently been harming random civilians. No pattern, no similarities in the victims, just completely random in who he chooses. Some survivors say they see a bright light just before everything goes to hell."

Alphonse froze slightly, faced with moral dilemma. If he didn't accept it, more people would get hurt, if he did, his brother might get worse.

"I'll look after FullMetal. Go do your job. You may not be directly involved with the military, but I'm sure you don't want other people to get hurt."

Alphonse hesitated for a moment before finally accepting. "Fine..just take care of Ed." Maria and Al left the room and Roy grabbed his coat to follow them towards Ed's room.

 _At least I have an excuse to not do any paperwork for a few days._


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm going to start putting these in on all my stories. I'm terrible at updating so I'm sorry in advance if I keep you guys waiting.**

Maria had requested that she at least accompany Alphonse on his assignment and after much pestering, was finally allowed to go. They showed the colonel into Ed's room and left quickly, eager to get this assignment over and done with.

Roy sighed and threw his coat onto the bed next to the blonde and sat down on one of the chairs. "FullMetal. Wake up."

Ed moaned in his sleep, turning over and tucking his arms into his chest. Roy moved over him and shook his body.

"FullMetal. Wake up."

Ed groaned and his eyes fluttered open. "What now.."

"I've been given the task of watching over you. I'm going back home so in order for me to complete my task, you need to come with me." Ed groaned again and shook his head. "I'm perfectly fine right here. I'm not even that sick."

"Then stand up." Roy challenged.

Ed narrowed his eyes towards him and scoffed a little. "Fine." He slipped off the bed slowly and after struggling slightly, he stood up completely. His body swayed back and forth and his eyes were only barely open. Roy sighed and scooped him up.

"You can even stand still, FullMetal. Let's go."

Ed weakly struggled, mumbling insults and making a scene. "Put me down, you bastard.." Roy ignored the young alchemist's protestations and walked outside, his car already waiting in idle. He opened the passenger door and gently set Edward inside, moving to the driver's side and pulling away from Central Command.

Fullmetal struggled in his seatbelt but couldn't even push the button to unbuckle it. "God dammit..I don't want to go home with you!" He weakly shouted.

Roy just shrugged and after awhile of driving, stopped in front of his building. "Well, I can't leave you at Central. Deal with it." He took out his keys and stepped out, helping Edward out on the other side. "Come on, Fullmetal. Try to walk, don't be helpless."

Edward again spouted an insult at him. "Shut up! I can walk just fine! If you're going to make me stay here, I'm not going to make it easy for you."

Mustang rolled his eyes irritated and took him inside, dropping him onto the couch. "Why don't you just go to sleep. It'll be a lot quieter when you're unconscious." He mumbled, moving into kitchen and searching his refrigerator for something to eat. "Do you want something to eat before you go to bed? The colonel soon found himself talking to empty air because almost as soon as Ed's head hit the couch's cushion, he was out like light, snoring quietly. Roy grabbed the ingredients to make himself a sandwich and walked around the bar to look down upon his charge for the night.

 _You know, he's kind of cute when he's not blabbing his mouth._ The thought entered his head before he realized what he'd just said to himself. His cheeks immediately flushed and he decided to go upstairs and get some rest himself.

* * *

The next morning came and Roy's alarm blared loudly. A frustrated slam shut it up and the colonel sat up groggily. It hadn't even felt like he slept all that long and now he had to get up. What a pain. Then he remembered the blonde teenager sleeping on his couch and that _pain_ was worse than the pain of waking up early. He groaned and went in to shower, brush his teeth, put on his uniform and go downstairs to make himself some breakfast.

In the time it took Roy to do this, Ed had woken up and had mindlessly raided the Colonel's fridge, grabbing a few eggs and beginning to cook rather successfully for someone with such little experience. That was the sight Roy walked into. Ed's blonde hair wasn't in it's usual braid and fell down his back. His golden locks looked wild and stuck out haphazardly. Roy couldn't help but notice how feminine he looked.

Roy cleared his throat and walked further into the kitchen, earning the young alchemist's attention. When he turned to face him, Roy could see Ed's eyes were barely even open. It looked like his body was on autopilot. "I hope you don't mind, I kind of helped myself." Roy nodded dismissively, saying without words that it was fine.

"Think you're feeling good enough to actually walk this time or am I going to have to carry you into Central too." He mocked.

"Hey, shut up. I could've walked. I just didn't want to. I would've expected a little more respect for someone who's cooking your breakfast."

"Ah, so you _can_ be selfless and think of others. Well I suppose I could thank you, depending on just how good your food will even will turn out."

Ed rolled his eyes and continued to cook, preparing a plate for each of them and sitting down to eat once he'd finished. Edward wasted no time and immediately dug in. The colonel watched him eat, amused, and then took a bite from the eggs. They weren't half bad actually. Better than his own cooking.

"Well Fullmetal, you'll make an excellent wife to a very lucky man."

Ed narrowed his eyes towards him in a scowl but said nothing more, much too tired to come up with a witty retort. Instead he finished his food and set his plate in the sink. "Tease me all you want. But you're the one cleaning after me."

After their quick breakfast, Roy drove back to Central with Ed alongside him willingly this time. They sat in silence and Ed was looking worse. His usual tan skin looked pale, his eyes drooped and you could see the fatigue in his features.

"Fullmetal. I think you need to see a doctor. You look a lot worse." Ed shook his head slightly, being as stubborn as ever. "I'm not going to a doctor, it's just a cold. It'll pass."

"I didn't need to ask. I figured it'd be polite considering you made me breakfast this morning. You're going to get checked up." Roy was not going to argue. Better to stop one before it begins. They soon arrived at Central Command and Roy led Edward into the infirmary. The nurse there examined him carefully, checking his blood pressure, temperature, and other basic vitals. The nurse decided to run a blood sample and the minute Ed saw the needle, he ran out of there so fast, you'd swear he left skid marks. Luckily, being sick had handicapped him enough for Roy to catch and hold him still while they drew the blood.

It took an hour for the results to come back and they were relieved to find out it wasn't pneumonia despite the very similar symptoms. The nurse consulted a small folder that held Ed's test results. "It seems you have the flu, Ed. I'm going to prescribe some anti-biotics that you'll need to take once a day for a week. Sound good?" Ed only nodded, a pout still on his lips from being forced to take the needle.

It soon started to dawn on Roy. Ed made him breakfast this morning and he carried the brat in last night. Suddenly, Roy sneezed.

 _Oh no_.


	3. Chapter 3

Roy and Ed were driven back to the colonel's home in a town car where a soldier dropped them off and left. The military is hard at work and they don't need Roy and Ed spreading the flu around to other officers. The colonel was more than a little upset since he was already fairly behind on his work and he'd probably have to stay the whole night just trying to catch up.

"Nice, Fullmetal. Good going, " Roy muttered, unlocking the front door of his apartment once they'd been dropped off.

"Well if you'd left me alone, this wouldn't have happened, now would it!" Ed shot back.

Roy moved into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of cold medicine where he drank a little and tossed the rest to Edward. The colonel was soon starting to feel the symptoms and he moved towards the couch where he took off his coat to use as a blanket. Ed, after taking a sip of the medicine bottle, sat on the farther side of the couch and grabbed the blanket he'd slept with that night to cover himself with. The chills were settling in and even though they both knew covering up would only worsen their fever, they did it anyway. After a few agonizing minutes of trying to sleep, Roy stood up and went into his medicine cabinet again to search for some sleeping pills. If he really planned to stay up the whole night to work, he'd need his rest now. He offered one to Ed, who accepted, and they both took it together. Half an hour later had them effectively out for the next coupled of hours, traversing their own personal dream worlds.

Even in his sleep, Ed's thoughts were of nothing other than fixing his younger brother, Al. The guilt that had haunted him since that day had all but consumed his every waking and slumbering thought. It was his fault the only thing keeping Al alive was a mark on the inside of a huge hunk of armor. The only place that provided some sense of comfort was the dream of seeing his younger brother's real face, of watching him run unrestricted, of seeing the smile that reminded him so much of his mother. Although these dreams were almost a pretty ordinary occurrence, sometimes he could be distracted enough to dream of a life where he had someone other than his brother who cared for him and loved him. Someone he could be completely open and honest with. Someone who could handle his outbursts and wild personality and, though he never showed it, someone who didn't make him feel insecure about his automail. Tonight he happened to be just distracted enough.

The Colonel's dreams on the other hand, were more nightmarish. They were flashbacks of the Ishvalan war and the terror he'd caused. The copious amounts of deaths he witnessed, the faces of the people whose lives he had taken, and the crackling of the fire that burned the flesh of his so called enemies. He could, and most likely would, go his entire life never forgiving himself for what he did on that battlefield. The graphic scenes were always looped, replaying multiple times over and over in his head exactly as it happened. However, this time, during a fairly less graphic memory, as he looked over the burning buildings of the war-torn city, something strange happened. In the middle of the battlefield stood the silhouette of what appeared to be a woman. The sun behind her cast enough shadow that her face wasn't visible. She was small in stature and she wore what looked to be a red dress that flowed in the gentle breeze. Roy could make out what looked to be golden hair and something glinted on her left hand. Perhaps a ring, he presumed. They stared at each other, neither daring to speak, simply gazing at each other while Roy's comrades passed by her seemingly without even acknowledging her presence. She must visible only to him. In that moment, all the horrors of war faded. The sound of gunfire became more and more distant. Explosions no longer rattled the earth. The Colonel's heavy heart seemed to lose it's weight. He knew without a doubt, this was the woman he was meant to be with. If only he knew who she was.

Hours passed and Roy was the first to wake up, noticing the weight across his lap. With groggy eyes, he looked down to see that Ed had sprawled himself out on the couch and had his legs rested across him like he was an ottoman. Roy stood and his legs slid off. The slight movement caused Ed to stir a little but still he gave back in to the warm embrace of sleep.

Roy realized he was sweating due to the fever and the additional heat from his coat so he decided he'd take a cool shower to hopefully bring his temperature down. He made his way upstairs and into the bathroom, slowly undressing as he turned on the water and stepped inside.

The whole shower took less than twenty minutes and by the time he stepped out, he was already feeling better. His body wasn't as achy and his face had regained some of it's original color. It seemed like his fever had gone down a little though he still didn't feel a hundred percent. Roy dried himself off and walked into his bedroom where he changed into a change of regular civilian clothes. A simple black t-shirt with jeans. Afterwards, he made his way downstairs and sighed as he sat back on the couch. Although he knew he should start catching up on his work, the procrastinator in him surfaced and convinced him that there wasn't be that much to do be done and he could finish it all when his sick leave was over.

Roy glanced over at Ed ,who was still, asleep and cocked his head to the side a little. He was so much less annoying in his sleep and although it looked like his brow was still furrowed, Roy couldn't help but notice how cute the younger alchemist looked.

And just like that, Roy turned his head away and scolded himself again for thinking like that again. Ed was much too young and the fact that he knew he wasn't calling him cute in a parental sort of way prompted more self scolding. Even if his age wasn't a factor, FullMetal acted like such a brat when he was awake, not to mention, he's a boy for Christ's sake. He reminded himself of all this and started to settle himself a little.

Ed suddenly started to fidget and moan causing Roy to curiously look at him again. At first it looked like Ed might've been dreaming of something inappropriate and Roy's cheeks flushed again. However, it soon became abundantly clear that he was having a nightmare and Roy decided he had to wake him. The raven walked over to pale blonde lying on his couch and leaned down to lightly try to shake him awake.

"FullMetal. FullMetal, wake up." He whispered. Ed was unperturbed. The longer Roy attempted to wake him, the more uncomfortable he seemed to get. He even tried to shake Roy's hand off his shoulder. The Colonel continued trying to shake his young charge awake, calling his name a little louder and trying to convince him that he was only dreaming but to no avail. Ed was starting to squirm a little more violently until suddenly he bolted upright without warning and their heads collided with a hard thud. Roy fell back onto the floor and Ed slumped back into the couch, both of them cradling their heads and groaning in pain.

Roy picked his head up, glaring a little at Ed. "Again, nice going, FullMetal."

"Why the hell were you so close, then?" Ed groaned.

"I was trying to wake you up, you were freaking out. What were you dreaming about that would cause you to react like that?"

"None of your damn business, okay?"

Ed sat up and noticed how hot he felt, immediately pushing the blankets off of him. The clash of their heads wasn't helping the headache that had begun to form and he rubbed his temples to try and soothe it.

He stood up shakily and walked to the fridge where he opened the freezer door to look for something cold but upon feeling the cool air, he stuck his head inside, sighing a little in relief at the welcome change of temperature.

"Get out of my freezer, FullMetal." Roy called, slowly getting his feet as well. "Go take a cold shower or something, I have food in there I don't want you to infect."

"Fine." Ed reluctantly pulled his head out of the freezer and walked upstairs where he knew the bathroom to be and locked the door. He turned on the cold water and ended up taking much longer than twenty minutes to fully shower, unlike Roy.

His shower had given Roy time to start making lunch. Now alone and in peace, he reflected on the dream he'd had and thought about that phantasmal woman. Somehow he felt like he knew her. If only he'd seen her face.

Finally, after a few hours, Edward finished his shower and came back downstairs wearing his red coat like it was a robe. His bare ankles showed that Ed wasn't wearing pants, most likely deciding to put his clothes in the wash so he wouldn't have to wear the same dirty thing for another day. Roy turned to look back at him when he walked into the kitchen and decided not to point out how much time he took in there. Instead, he took notice of his long hair once again free from it's elastic 'prison'. The matted blonde locks seemed to glow more than usual and his skin was no longer pale. He took notice of his attire, or lack thereof, and was forced to turn back to the stove to shield his blush.

"I put my clothes in your washing machine." proclaimed Ed, his own cheeks dusted a light pink. Obviously he wasn't very comfortable letting him know that he did not have clothes underneath his makeshift robe.

Roy shook his head to show he was fine with it and in his attempts to keep his thoughts off Ed, he failed to make the connection to the woman in his dream that hadn't actually been a woman.

"Now who's the housewife?" Called Ed from the door frame that separated the living area from the bedrooms, attempting to change the subject and successfully doing so.

Roy kind of chuckled dryly and scoffed at the same time, braving a glance back at him to answer, "You look more feminine than I do, FullMetal." He said, gesturing to his current appearance.

"I do not! I look very manly! You can't braid damp hair! Do you know the damage you could cause by doing that!." Ed started to realize how feminine that sounded coming out of his mouth but where people thought he lacked hygiene, he proved them wrong every time.

Roy just kind of chuckled again but kept silent, finally finishing preparing their lunch and moving to serve them both. He wasn't a very good cook so he made something fairly simple and even good for someone with the flu. He'd made chicken noodle soup to help with their symptoms and poured himself some tea. Ed stuck to water and they ate in silence for a good while until they both finished.

Roy stood up to go put the dishes away and was immediately hit by the feeling of dizziness. He held onto the counter and took a few breaths. Ed noticed and asked him if he was alright.

"I don't know." He tried to stand on his own but again he felt the wave of dizziness and Ed moved over to help him.

"Come on, let's get you to the couch." He walked him over and placed his left hand to Roy's forehead. "Wow, you're burning." It was odd to see Ed look like he cared. Usually, his kindness was reserved only for his younger brother. It was more a welcoming gesture than he knew.

Ed went back into the kitchen to grab a cold wet rag and a bucket, placing it on his superior's head. He did a little scouting around and found the number to a doctor who lived a few towns over. He dialed and the phone rang twice before someone picked up. Ed spoke with the doctor, explaining Roy's symptoms but unfortunately, it was raining hard where the doctor lived and flash floods would prevent him from seeing them until at least tomorrow afternoon. Looks like Ed would be playing babysitter until then. Great.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the late update, dudes. The first three chapters were prewritten and this one was written from scratch. It's also much longer so it took awhile for me to put down what I wanted and since I was putting pressure on myself to update soon, this chapter may seem a little rushed and may include a few grammatical errors. Please excuse me. Anyhow, this story has only been up for a week and I already have more views here than in anything I've ever posted on Wattpad. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I will post the next one as soon as I can!**

Ed spent the rest of the day taking care of his superior. The cold rag helped bring down his fever to a more bearable state and the installment of Roy's portable bedroom fan, helped keep him like that when the bucket of cold water was reduced to room temperature. The younger alchemist periodically brought him some pain meds and the antibiotics that were prescribed to Ed himself to help the Colonel's obviously worse case.

Soon, the sun began to set on his day of playing nurse and with Roy laid across the couch, having fallen asleep, Edward was left nowhere to sleep except the bedroom. Slowly, he made his way upstairs and found the bedroom the raven officer slept in every night. The sheets were still unmade, hanging off the edge of the Victorian style queen from last night. The bedposts on each corner of the frame reached as high as the ceiling and connected with a wonderful wooden canopy. The walls were painted a light blue that gave off the feeling of relaxation and calm. Edward looked around, noticing how, other than his bed sheets, the room was more or less pretty tidy. No clothes on the floor, his closet was neatly lined with pressed shirts and coats, items and small knick knacks arranged perfectly where they needed to be, even the bed frame was polished and shone in the light that entered the room from the hallway. He turned to another wall in the room that held up a fairly normal sized TV, under it sat a wooden dresser (also polished) that held two picture frames affectionately positioned to face the bed. One was of a younger looking Roy with an older man and a young woman. The little boy was wearing what looked to be his father's military officer cap. The smile on the younger Roy's face made Ed feel kind of sad. It was doubtful that Roy had ever smiled like that since he joined the military.

The frame next to it held a photograph from what looked to be a birthday party. The picture seemed recent and it depicted Roy and his team all gathered around for the photo. Each officer wore a party hat and held glasses of beer while surrounding a rectangular cake. Roy sat in front of it while Breda, Fuery, Hawkeye, Grumman, Falman, and Havoc stood behind him with the goofiest smiles. Ed could recognize one more, the only other person sitting down with his arm around Mustang and a happy smile spread across his cheeks. It was none other than Maes Hughes himself. He too sported a party hat and a party blower between his lips, held in place between his teeth. He took in the sight and surmised it must've been the Colonel's birthday. It had to have been a surprise since he just couldn't see Roy organizing a party for himself. His eyes finally settled on the man of the hour who, to his surprise, also had a small but very genuine smile on his face. The sight made him break a smile as well.

Finally, after more than enough snooping, Ed decided to get some sleep and crawled into the bed. The mattress felt soft and heavenly compared to the surfaces he usually slept on and he immediately closed his eyes and sunk into the sheets. A feeling of calm washed over him that when coupled with the rooms natural feel, made him feel much sleepier. After a few minutes of lying on his back, he turned to a more comfortable position, on his stomach, and got ready to go to sleep. He could smell the older alchemist's natural scent from the sheets and while it usually went unnoticed, now it was noticeably present and only served to soothe him. What that meant, he had no idea, but when he finally drifted off to sleep, his dreams were completely turned on their head.

The next morning, Ed woke up feeling more refreshed than ever. He didn't even feel as sick anymore. Perhaps a few tablets of anti-biotics were all he needed. He shrugged it off and slowly sat up in bed, taking a moment to remember where he was. His confusion of waking up in a foreign bedroom dissipated once he realized where he was and he swung his legs over the side of the bed. If he ever went back home permanently, he would definitely look into getting a bed like this.

Finally gathering himself, Edward slipped off the bed and decided to go downstairs to check on Roy. Hopefully the poor sap was feeling better. He looked so sickly yesterday, Ed was beginning to wonder if he'd have to take him to the hospital. Ed found him sitting up and stretching his arms, recognizing his yawn. It looks like he too had just woken up.

"How are you feeling?" Ed called from the doorway.

Roy turned to look at him, his eyes lidded with the last remnants of sleep. "Better. Sort of. Mild headache, aching muscles but other than that, I'm fine." He replied.

Ed narrowed his eyes suspiciously, trying to find out if that was the whole truth. He wasn't sweating so if he had a fever, it was low. His nose and cheeks were slightly red but no more than when he first got sick. Although he didn't look as sick, he could be feeling much worse than he looks. Ed decided to shelf it for now. If he was feeling bad, better not to make him feel worse by starting an argument.

The blonde moved into the kitchen to start cooking breakfast for the second time since he'd been there when Roy called after him. "How'd you like my bed?"

Ed stopped in front of the fridge and turned to look back at him, staring at him like he'd just accused him of trespassing. "You were on the couch. I won't sleep on the floor like a dog. And by the way, it was very comfortable." He continued on and set a pan on the stove, turning it on while he gathered the ingredients for some pancakes. While he stood there now playing chef, Roy slowly stood up and silently made his way upstairs. He walked the familiar path to his bedroom and looked inside.

"Wow, you move a lot in your sleep. ." He muttered to himself. He couldn't really reason why he felt the need to check his room but for some reason he did, and boy was he glad he did. The bed was a mess, pillows were on the floor, the sheets were pulled back from their respective corners, the covers were in a bunch and it for once, he felt like not making his bed. Still though, Roy walked over anyway to fix the monstrosity, taking his time while he allowed his mind to wander. He started to think of Edward sleeping in here, realizing once again that Ed had slept here pretty much in the nude. There was no way of telling if he slept with his robe on or not but he had to convince himself that he did or his face would be warmer than the fever.

After making his bed and taking a few minutes to calm himself, the Colonel made his way back downstairs, trying to keep himself composed. Ed noticed his strange behavior and narrowed his eyes a little at him. "Where were you? I was talking to myself for ten minutes before realizing I was talking to empty air."

Roy grinned a little at that, shaking his head. "Well, I went to go fix my bed, only to find it in more of a mess than its ever been. Know anything about that?"

Ed scoffed a little and shook his head. "Not a clue. Why don't you get on with finding the culprit while I sit here and enjoy my superb cooking."

Apparently Ed had already served one plate and he was working on the stacks for the second one. Somehow, the younger male had pancakes fluffier than most pillows. Edward's eggs were pretty good but his pancakes looked delicious. When Ed served the other plate, it was immediately picked up by the raven who then proceeded to drown the fluffy clouds in syrup. Roy cut the stack of pancakes and took one bite, letting out a groan of pleasure at the exquisite taste.

Ed giggled a little, much to his own surprise, and sat down on the opposite side of the table, digging into his own stack. "They're Al's recipe. He's learning how to cook so when we get his body back, he can experience these foods again."

Roy let out an approving grunt and continued to eat his breakfast. "Well Fullmetal," he said, speech muffled by the food in his mouth as he completely abandoned table manners, "You really will make an excellent housewife." He grinned at him again, seeing a vein pop in his temple. "You called the doctor the other day didn't you? What did he say?" Roy asked, cutting off the barrage of insults that was sure to come from the temperamental teen.

Ed took a moment to replace his insults and finally responded, ". .He said he'd come over this afternoon. Something about flash floods on his end." He shrugged a little, not forgetting Roy's earlier comment but deciding he'd bring it up in a later argument. The blonde alchemist proceeded to dig into his pancakes once again. Roy nodded softly and checked the wall clock. It was ten in the morning so they could begin to expect him around maybe two o'clock. Roy decided he'd better go shower after breakfast since he was to be the patient.

Suddenly a loud buzzing noise startled both men and Roy recognized it as the dryer. During the night, Roy had woken up to the sound of a quieter buzz and ended up putting Ed's clothes to dry so he wouldn't have to wait any longer in nothing but his coat. "Your clothes are done drying, go on up and change, I'll clean up in here."

Ed stood up from the table and left his own empty plate, walking upstairs to finally change into a clean change of clothes; walking around almost nude was more than a little embarrassing. The young alchemist pulled his clothes from the dryer and went into the bathroom to change, taking the time to fix his appearance in the mirror. He hadn't noticed his hair was more than a little messy, strands sticking up in odd directions and tangled due to all the movement he was prone to in his sleep.

The next few hours passed by in no time after Roy and Ed had found some actual good movies to watch. Before they knew it, they were being interrupted by a knock on the door. Ed was the one to stand up and answer it while Roy put their film on pause. He let the doctor in as soon as he recognized his tote bag and led the older man into the living area.

"Roy Mustang! It's been awhile my friend." The doctor announced. He was a portly man with a full head of gray hair and a beard to match. On the bridge of his nose rested a pair of spectacles that covered up the light wrinkles that had begun to form under his eyes.

Roy stood up to greet his long time physician, shaking his hand gratefully for coming all the way out here to tend to him. "How was the drive?" He asked politely, gesturing for him to sit down. Roy did so as well after the doctor found his seat and set down his tote bag.

"Oh it was just fine! I'm surprised the storm didn't reach you all the way out here." Roy looked up at Ed and introduced him. "Fullmetal, this Dr. Bradley. He's been our family's physician for years. Dr., this is my subordinate, Edward Elric, also known as the Fullmetal alchemist."

The blonde took the hand that the doctor had offered him and gave a half smile. "Nice to meet you." He said slightly unenthused.

"A pleasure." Bradley responded in a very grandfather-like tone.

After a few minutes of acquaintance, Dr. Bradley began to pull out his tools to examine Roy. He checked his vitals while Ed explained Roy's symptoms from the other day and was already finding out the most accurate diagnosis. He was sure it was pneumonia, however when he checked his blood pressure, it was clear that's was caused Roy's faintness and lightheadedness. He'd done a few more tests to make sure and when he was satisfied, he smiled down at him. "Roy-boy, it seems this fever is really dehydrating you. It was enough to lower your blood pressure which caused your dizzy spell. I'm going to give you some medicine to help with your symptoms but it's all in how you take care of yourself. Drink anything rich in electrolytes and you should be fine."

Dr. Bradley wrapped his stethoscope around his neck and began to put his instruments away. Roy nodded softly at his diagnosis and went into the fridge to grab a sports drink for good measure. He was relieved it wasn't something more serious.

"Well, thank you Doctor, for coming out here." Roy added.

"Nonsense boy, we're practically family! There's no need to thank me." He chuckled heartily, zipping up his equipment.

"Oh, please, stay for lunch. That way I won't feel like I wasted your time with such a trivial visit." Roy insisted.

Bradley laughed and accepted the offer graciously. "Very well, my boy. Lucky for you, I haven't eaten since breakfast well over four hours ago."

The Colonel gave him a very warm smile and went into the kitchen to start making lunch. Ed sat back down on the couch and pulled the blanket over his shoulders as he resumed the movie, Dr. Bradley taking a seat on a recliner across from the TV.

"So, Edward, just how old are you? You seem a bit young to be a state alchemist."

"And yet, I'm willing to bet my IQ is higher than yours, old man." Ed hated to be treated like a child. "In fact, I'm sure I know more about medicine than you do."

Dr. Bradley immediately gathered that this boy definitely had a short temper. "Oh? So then why phone me at all? I'm sure you could've deduced that he was malnourished and needed fluids." He challenged.

"Because if it had been pneumonia, which it very well could've been, I wouldn't have been able to prescribe the proper medicine without a license and being sick myself, I couldn't very well just go out get him some over-the-counter stuff, though doubtless it'd do very much."

The doctor nodded softly, sitting back in the recliner with an impressed expression. "Very well, young man. Now tell, why are you staying here? From what Roy has told me before, you two never really got along. How is it that you can stay in the same room with him without the usual arguments?"

Ed had no answer to that question, having just noticed that they were actually getting along a little better. For the most part. "Don't ask me. It's a scientific phenomena yet to be explained." He shrugged and turned up the volume on the movie to get across the message that he did not want answer anymore questions.

The food took a little longer than usual to get done since Roy wasn't very kitchen savvy and his skills in the actual action were less than average. Still, the mediocre meal was very welcome by all three acquaintances due to their empty stomachs and they supped greedily, occasionally engaging in small talk.

After their meal, Roy once again thanked his long time friend and bid him a good drive back home before he came back into the living area. Ed had a particular scowl on his features that immediately expressed his feelings towards the portly man that had just left. He was not a fan. The colonel laughed lightly and could only assume what impression he must've made to earn him a scowl like that.

"I'm guessing you don't like the good doctor very much?"

"Bastard doesn't know who he's dealing with." That sentence alone confirmed the doctor's mistake in calling Ed something he didn't like.

The aggravated teen began to walk out of the room, intent on trying to calm himself down. He turned back to the older alchemist and in a moment of sincerity that was rare for someone so temperamental, he muttered quietly, a light cherry tint on his golden cheeks. "I'm glad you're alright."

The words caught him off guard, leaving him speechless. Ed didn't wait for a response and simply walked outside to watch the setting sun duck behind the horizon. It took the colonel a few moments to come back to reality and when he did, he looked outside the window to make sure Edward hadn't run off.

Again, he was caught by something else. What he saw outside completely changed the perspective in which he saw his young subordinate. His back was to the apartment but even then, he knew what he was witnessing. He saw the silhouette of a woman, her long, beautiful blonde hair flowing in the wind, a red 'dress' that he now knew to be a coat, and the glint of metal on her left arm turned out to be automail. He'd never seen the face of the woman in his dream before but now he knew, unmistakably, that she was no woman. Edward had been that silhouette of beauty that captivated him the moment he laid eyes on it. Edward was his subconscious desire. Roy had no idea what to do with this knowledge.

 _How do I even proceed with someone like him?_


	5. Chapter 5

Ed came back inside after about an hour of clearing his head and went straight into the kitchen, noticing the dirty plates that were still on the table. It was odd that Roy hadn't cleaned up yet but he decided he could use the distraction. Edward picked up their dirty dishes and placed them in the sink where he proceeded to wash them uninterrupted.

Meanwhile, Roy Mustang sat on the edge of his bed upstairs, head in his hands, and mind racing with how best to deal with his situation. There was no way in hell he could tell him upfront, he'd probably get a fist to the face or end up scaring him off. The boy was all but sixteen years old and he was almost 30. Sure, he'd noticed the change in their relationship recently. They insulted each other still, yes, but now they were more playful in their meaning instead of filled with contempt. The idea of sleeping in Roy's bed didn't seem to bother Ed like it would've before their temporary housing arrangement, and the Colonel never would've thought him cute before this.

Unfortunately, he'd have to deal with these feelings until Alphonse finished his assignment and came to take his brother off his hands. He just had to hold out until then. Roy took a deep breath and composed himself as best as he could. There was plenty of time to dwell on this later. After a few minutes of clearing his head, he finally went back downstairs, sneaking into the bathroom and flushing the toilet to make it seem like he wasn't just avoiding Ed. Upon entering the living room, he saw Ed with his sleeves rolled up, his hair tied up in a high ponytail, and his arms half deep in a sink full of water. He was doing the dishes. He thought about making another cute housewife comment but stopped himself before he could because he imagined him now as if he was his cute housewife and that made his cheeks flush. He quickly turned away and walked over to the couch.

Ed heard his footsteps and glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow. He no doubt expected a comment on what he was doing but none came. Instead, he watched his superior walk the complete opposite direction and turn on the TV. Ed quickly finished up and set the plates in the cabinets after he dried them off. The blonde the walked over to the couch and sat down opposite of him, staring at him curiously. "Are you okay? I expected a witty comment when you saw me doing your dishes."

Roy nodded softly, "Huh? Oh, yes, I'm fine."

Still no snarky comment. Ed was starting to worry a little, which surprised him. He'd felt anger, annoyance, even mild hatred, but he'd never felt worried for the bastard. Edward placed the back of his left hand on his forehead to show that he was incredulous to his behavior. Roy let out a little chuckle and lightly brushed his hand away.

"Ed, I'm fine." More alarms flashed. Roy only called him Fullmetal, very rarely did he ever say his real name. Not that he didn't sort of like the way he said it.

Huh. What a weird thought.

"Well, you're freaking me out. What, did you find inner peace in that bathroom?" The raven shook his head a little, quickly trying to come up with the most logical excuse to feed him.

"I'm really just a little out of it. I'm fine." Roy mimicked Ed's reaction when the good doctor was here and turned up the TV to show he didn't want to talk anymore. Meanwhile, Ed was more skeptical than ever. Looking back, perhaps it was something he and the doctor talked about that made him begin to act strangely. He obviously didn't seem in the mood to discuss presently so he would have to catch him another time. Perhaps when he was most vulnerable. On the verge of sleep.

For the next few hours, Ed did his best to keep the older man awake for as long as possible. Midnight came and went and he could see Roy's eyes drooping as he started to nod off. "Colonel. Are you sure you're fine?" He asked quietly once he felt the moment was right.

"Did you really just keep me up so I'd let my guard down and tell you the truth?" Ed grinned sheepishly, rubbing his head.

The raven shook his head a little. "Really, I'm fine Fullmetal. They're just a few nightmares." He mumbled. The clever bastard skillfully avoided the heart of his problem, knowing that'd be enough for Edward to stop asking questions.

"You were being way too vague before. Are these nightmares something to worry about?"

"Not anymore. I found a way to cope. Just, don't deprive me of sleep again. I'm sick and I need as much as rest as I can get. I'm going to bed." Again, he was surprised by Ed's growing concern. He would really have to be careful about acting too differently. Ed was much to observant and stubborn as well. If he wanted an answer, he'd get one. Roy pulled himself off the couch and started to walk towards the stairs, mumbling quietly to himself once he thought the blonde was out of earshot. He was not. "You're not making it any easier to stop liking you this way."

Ed tensed a little and looked back at Roy, confusion forming on his features along with the red that slowly colored his cheeks. Had he been talking to him or himself? It was unlikely he meant for Ed to hear that. Was it a fevered slip of the tongue?

Unperturbed, Roy made his way upstairs and into his bedroom, crawling into bed as sleep overcame him the minute his head touched the pillow. Ed slept very little that night, troubled and confused over what he had heard. What exactly did he mean? Should he confront him about it? All answers to these questions were beyond him. If he did confront Roy about, no doubt he would deny ever having said that, but if he didn't try to get an answer, perhaps he'd regret it later.

Ed sighed and stood up to rummage through Roy's cabinets for any kind of sleeping aid. Happening upon the last few pills of a sleeping drug, Ed took one and went back to lie in his place on the couch. Within ten minutes, the blonde alchemist was out like a light.

The next morning felt awkward. Roy and Ed were avoiding conversation, both struggling with how exactly to tell the other what's been happening. Of course, Ed was a little less afraid of confrontation so he was the one to break the silence.

"Hey, last night, before you went to bed, did you say something?"

Roy's twitched ever so slightly, slightly tensing up. "No, I don't think so. Why?" Had he actually heard?

"Well, I heard you mumbling.." He made sure to leave out the part of actually hearing everything he'd said.

Roy shrugged it off, playing it off as if it were no big deal, though he could see what looked like panic behind his dark pupils. Everything in his body was pushing him to stop prying but his curiosity, a more prominent force drove him to inquire further.

"Roy, I know you didn't just mumble. You said something about me, what was it?"

At this point, his worry became more prominent in his features. His forehead wrinkled, his eyebrows came together, and his eyes were darting away from the blonde doing their best to avoid eye contact. Roy hesitated, obviously conflicted with himself and completely at a loss for how he should handle the situation. Being put on the spot so early in the morning, he couldn't come up with a believable excuse.

"Well, it's sort of a long story." He admitted.

"Well I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." Ed persisted.

With a heavy sigh, Roy explained to him the situation of his dreams, how before, they were nightmares and suddenly changed overnight. He explained the woman that stood on the battlefield, at times simply waiting and other times fighting alongside him. He explained the connection he felt to her and how he knew if he found out who she was, he'd be able to find her one day and although it sounded stupid and very much crazy, Ed surprisingly understood.

"Recently, I found out who she was and I guess it's still a little strange. I'm processing and trying to decide how to go about telling 'her'." Roy continued to eat his breakfast in an attempt to fill the somewhat awkward silence. He'd never really opened up for anyone other than Riza and it was still rather strange to do so with Edward.

Finally, the context of what he'd overhead started to make sense. He remembered the comment where Roy regarded him as feminine and combined with whatever dream he was talking about, he made the logical conclusion that he was the woman and that's why Roy was acting so strange around him.

"Well, what would happen if you'd told this woman about all of this?" Unbeknownst to either of them, Ed had started to notice men a little more. Winry, who he once harbored a crush for, was reduced to a really good friend. Lust's appearance had absolutely no effect on him when they fought and although he didn't notice it, he was gradually started to like his superior, a fact he justified as an increased tolerance for him.

"I'd most definitely receive a bony fist to the face. This eh..'woman'..is a bit temperamental. I doubt she'd take it very well, especially from me. We don't exactly have the healthiest relationship." Although Roy felt confident he was keeping this mystery woman's identity a secret, Ed could read between the lines, between the comment Roy mumbled last night, his recent behavior, and his elusiveness to saying this mystery woman's name.

"Are you absolutely positive she'd have such a negative reaction?" This was as much a question to him as to himself. Would he really have that kind of reaction if Roy had confessed to him. Just the thought of it brought a slight coloring to his cheeks and gave him a strange chill down his spine. Half of him was disgusted and most definitely against any kind of intimate relationship between them. Roy had never been anything but an annoying, over-bearing, condescending bastard. Yet the other half of him recognized his soft side, the guilt that bordered his features when he spoke of Ishval, the way he, albeit begrudgingly, took care of him when he was so ill, simply standing was a challenge, the way his attitude seemed to soften the longer they were around each other.

The colonel shrugged a little. "Not completely but the odds aren't in my favor. There, now let's eat. I think I've recovered enough to go back to work. You're healthy again so all I need to do is watch you until Alphonse gets back." Roy and Ed ate in silence, the blonde mulling over the new information. What would he do with it?

A few hours later, after convincing his superior and Hawkeye that he had a clean bill of health, a car was sent for him and Edward where they were driven back to Central Command. Unfortunately for the pair, they were required stay in one room so as to make sure no other officers got ill. Of course they'd decided on Roy's office. Though, 'decided' would've implied they both had a choice which Edward was not given.

Once they'd arrived and made their way into Roy's office, the older alchemist immediately started on his work in an attempt to not only complete his ever-growing pile but also to distract himself from the blonde whom he'd recently started to harbor feelings for. Meanwhile, Ed laid himself across the couch in Mustang's office and lost himself within, taking the abundance of time they'd be there to do some serious soul searching.

What do I do now?


	6. Chapter 6

**So this chapter is VERY out of character for both Ed and Roy but I mean, any kind of romance between them would be out of character so might as well go out amirite? Anyway, so yeah, here's the last chapter, you guys.**

Hours passed by in silence, the peace only disturbed by the scribbling of a pen and the turning of papers as Roy attempted to thin the stack of paperwork sitting on his desk. Neither had said a word since they arrived and even ate lunch in silence. Of course, they both had important things running through their minds so one can't blame the need for silence. By four in the afternoon, Ed sat up a little from his resting position on the couch with a look of compromise decorating his features. It seems he'd realized that there is only so much he can control, much to his own dismay. He resolved that he would give Roy a day or two to decide what path of action to take and if he did nothing, Ed would have to confront him himself. As for the topic of his own feelings on the subject, those would take a bit longer than just a few hours to sort out. At the end of the two-day time period, he would either have to have settled them by then or he would have to deal with whatever reaction he would have in the moment.

At around 8 pm, a quiet ringing sounded from the Colonel's jacket pocket, telling him it was the end of the workday, the alarm pulling his companion out of the deep reflection he'd been absorbed in. Roy stood up slowly and straightened up the papers of finished work that he was meant to do yesterday and placed them in his outgoing basket, the work meant for today needing to be pushed back for tomorrow. He would have to spend a separate night here to catch up when he was no longer looking after Edward. He sighed exasperatedly and looked up at the blonde alchemist whom, quite frankly, he'd completely forgotten about until now.

"Wow, a full workday of silence, Fullmetal? I didn't think that was possible from you." He gave a teasing grin but was most serious in his genuine surprise.

"Oh yeah, lost in thought I guess." He replied, his voice slightly hoarse from the lingering end of his sickness and the straining of his vocal cords after a full day of silence.

Seeing Roy get up, he tilted his head slightly and pulled out his pocket watch to check the time. "Are we done? Do we go home?"

Roy nodded softly and pulled on his coat, taking the time to stretch out his back and arms before he grabbed his things. "Yes, we're done here."

Ed stood and the pair made their way out of Central Command in silence, finding the car that brought them there waiting outside to take them home. It was strange when they realized that there was no need for Ed to stay with Mustang anymore, considering they were now both along the road to recovery but neither said a thing as they both exited the car at Roy's apartment and made their way inside.

Roy made his way upstairs to change out of his uniform and Ed moved to sit on the couch, resuming his previous activity of trying to decide on how he felt about everything. Looking past his previous biases, Roy really was an exceptional man with good morals and a strong code of ethics. He was the kind of guy one could depend on fully and for Ed, that was a big plus. The more he thought about it and the kind of relationship they could have, the redder his face grew but the more he realized he wanted exactly that. He wanted to be able to share the load with someone who could bear it, he wanted to have someone he could talk to about things that he couldn't talk about with Al, he wanted to be...vulnerable. It is so exhausting to act like nothing ever bothers him. Another big plus is that neither has ever had any kind of openly emotional relationship with anyone other than siblings (counting Riza as a sister) so there wouldn't immediately be any drastic change in the way they behaved with each other. They would both need to learn together how one is supposed to act with a significant other.

Edward laid out all the positives and negatives in his head and found that there were far more positives than negatives, the latter mostly consisting of having to give up his pride. The blonde sighed softly and rubbed his temples gently, Roy finally coming downstairs in casual clothing and making his way into the kitchen to start on dinner.

Now that he thought about it, Roy had an awful amount of pride himself and it was starting to look doubtful that the other would ever approach him and spill his guts about something this serious. Ed, as is known by pretty much anyone who's met him, isn't a very patient young man; and so, he decided he would need to confront his superior sometime very soon and get this whole ordeal over with. Once his mind was made up and he began to think on how to say everything, he suddenly felt very uneasy. His stomach was doing backflips and it made him visibly flustered to even think about. Still, he sat in silence and ran through what he'd say, his mind torturing him by making connections he shouldn't be making. For example, how for the past few days, Roy has been caring for him and making him food and god, even let him do his laundry here. Oh god, he'd pretty much been naked around him, wearing nothing but his coat. It was a good thing his back was to Roy because there was no doubt the color of his face would've been mocked and teased while he attempted to pry from him the reason why he looked like that.

Ed had to physically shake the intrusive thoughts from his head and tried to calm down a little. He emptied his mind briefly to let the color fade from his cheeks and finally took a breath to compose himself. It would probably be best to get this over with as soon as possible but for that happen, one of them needs to be willing to throw out their pride. Maybe if he can bring up the fact that he heard what he said and not tell him what he thought about it, he could trick Roy into doing just that. Then again, the Colonel was just as stubborn as he was and he'd probably deny it to hell and back before admitting to something like that.

Once again, Ed was pulled from his thoughts when Roy announced that dinner was ready. He took a moment to compose himself once again before he stood and made his way to the dining room table. The smell finally hit him and he began to realize just how hungry he was. The blond's stomach rumbled as the other set the plates on opposite sides of the table, a detail he fully agreed with. Roy left afterward to get their drinks and Ed took a seat in front of one of the dishes. Oh, Christ, a steak dinner. Normally, he was all for anything with meat but this time, there was a hidden meaning that he couldn't tell if it was intentional or not. Still, he didn't complain and started to eat just as Roy reentered the dining room. The raven set down a glass of water in front of Ed and then took a seat at his side of the table, somewhat avoiding eye contact. After a few minutes of eating in silence once again, Ed mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do.

"I...heard what you said...the other night.." He sort of mumbled it out but no doubt it was loud enough for Roy to hear.

Ed kept his eyes on his food, finding it much easier to approach this topic if he didn't have to look him in the eye. The sound of Roy's silverware cutting his steak stopped the moment he heard him say that. It took him awhile to come up with a response that didn't immediately allude that Ed had heard everything.

"Yeah, you told me this. We already went over-"

"No...I heard every word you said."

Again, Roy was silent for a good while as he processed what this meant and searching his brain for an appropriate response. Ed slowly glanced up at him and saw the panic in his eyes just as he did before. As much as he wanted to calm him down, he had to hear what he thought of this before he could give his own thoughts.

As much as Roy wanted desperately to deny it all, he knew Ed wasn't an idiot. He knew there was no way he'd bring something like this up unless he was absolutely sure. Still, it didn't ease his panicking mind. He didn't even understand why he was panicking, he just was. He'd never really felt like this about anyone else, he realized. At one point, he did harbor a crush for Riza but even that didn't come close to how he felt with Ed.

It was strange to say that, even to himself, but he knew this attraction had been planted long before these past few days. He'd just always denied them so stubbornly and it caused him to continuously tease and mock his young charge for so long. The only way to get out of this situation in a way he wouldn't regret later was to just come clean. And so, he did.

"Alright. And what conclusions have you come to?"

"You are attracted to me. I don't know when this started but I can only assume you only realized recently?"

Roy took a moment to compose himself, taking a few calming deep breaths before he threw out his pride to truthfully admit his poorly guarded secret.

"Yes."

Despite Ed knowing this would probably be his answer, it took him a bit by surprise. Partly because he didn't expect him to admit it and partly because he now knew that he was undeniably right. Now it was Ed who took a moment of silence, his brain trying to come up an appropriate response. Roy was prepared for whatever reaction he would receive. He honestly expected a full-on scene, even tensing himself slightly in case Ed were to get violent. Instead, his response was simply...

"Why?"

Seeing Roy throw out his pride made it much easier for him to do the same, though it was really hard for him to be any kind of vulnerable, and soon, he would be in the most vulnerable position he'd ever been in, not that either of them knew it. Whether he wanted to admit or not, he too was...attached...to his superior and his next words would determine how he would react.

"...I've asked myself that question a lot since I realized it was you. I've come up with a lot of answers but no words can really do them justice. I don't expect you to be okay with any of this and I am absolutely horrible at really explaining the way I feel so, that's about all I can really say."

On the bright side, it didn't seem to be an only physical attraction. Otherwise, his answer would've been much more straightforward. It was now his turn to say his piece. The only problem being, he had no idea how to respond. He figured if he'd heard what his superior had to say, it would help him reach a much clearer decision but it only served to confuse him even more.

"What exactly...do you want to happen?"

Roy thought about it for a moment and sighed quietly, averting his gaze so he didn't have to look him in the eye as he said this.

"Ideally, I'd like to try this with you. I know there are several reasons why this relationship shouldn't happen, the least of it being your age, but I will no doubt regret it if I don't at least try. Realistically though, if you're disgusted or just not interested, I'd rather never bring this up again."

Ed was torn. While he did throw away his pride a bit to bring up this topic, he still held some of it very closely and to accept his 'proposal' would mean he'd have to let go of it all, especially because he'd no doubt be the 'woman' in their relationship which, admittedly, he was actually okay with. He really did want to try this. He had been dreaming of having a partner for so long. He just never expected it to be Roy. Still, he knew he too would regret not giving this a try. Ed's face turned a visible crimson as he finally gave his thoughts.

"I've been thinking about it a lot after I overheard you. It's why I was so quiet earlier today. I have a lot of baggage and I've sort of got it in my head that I wouldn't ever find someone who could, let alone would want to carry it with me. I don't want to say yes because I don't like being...vulnerable and relationships can involve a lot of it. Are you sure you'd even want me later on down the line? Baggage and all?"

Roy knew it wasn't easy for him to basically admit that he was scared of any kind of commitment. He knew that emotional pain could be the most devastating. He had to be absolutely sure he wouldn't turn his back on him after this.

Roy sighed a little once more and stood up from the table, walking over to take the seat closest to Ed. As he did so, the blond visibly tensed up. Roy lightly took the boy's left hand in his own and cupped it gently. The action was more or less instinctual and left both men blushing fairly deeply, though Roy still had the composure the respond, and so he did.

"I am not a man that makes promises, much less, promises that I can't keep...but I will promise you something right now. This promise is only valid if you choose to give this a try. It's a very simple promise; I will do everything in my power to make and keep you happy...Edward Elric."

It was almost reassuring in itself to hear him end his promise by making it directly to him. Because of this, ever, ever so slowly, Ed began to relax a little, his metaphorical shield slowly lowering until he was nearly a completely different person. Ed slowly glanced over at Roy, his normally piercing amber eyes practically begging him to make sure he was really sure about this before he did any damage. His guard was now completely lowered and this was no longer the Ed that Roy knew. This was a boy who was utterly and completely vulnerable. It'd be so easy to completely destroy this emotionally damaged boy. Just a few words and he could wound him so deeply, he'd never trust another person again.

So Roy kissed him, and his doubts were sated.

 **I'm not sure if this is at all ready to release to you guys. I don't know if there's more I can make happen or what but I'm pretty okay with leaving this here. If something more comes to me, I'll update it and repost it but for the time being, this is the end.**


End file.
